Intensive Details: Testimonials

"I've lived with OCD and its various manifestations for nearly 30 years (since my early teens) and its legacy of "wasted" years, unhappiness, despair and hopelessness (felt by myself and my loved ones). I've been on medication on and off and have been through a number of different therapies. I ended up going on the intensive after yet another OCD crisis and I'm so glad I did.

The course is well administered and structured but not rigidly applied. The therapists India and Clint adapted the course from day to day to most effectively address the specific OCD issues of the course attendees. The course is about educating you about OCD so you know what you are really dealing with and you are shown how to manage your OCD by learning and applying behavioural and cognitive methods (i.e. how you act and think).

I felt that throughout the course I had the understanding, acceptance and support of India and Clint but also of my fellow OCDers on the course who showed courage, determination and commitment to achieve, I feel, their own individual breakthroughs. It was a powerful experience to share and I would recommend the intensive course to anyone who wants to finally take charge of their OCD and lead a "normal" life. There are no quick fixes. The intensive is tough, challenging, fun at times (yes, I wrote fun) and rewarding.

I feel the course has the potential to be life changing in helping you lead your life rather than letting OCD run it for you if you embrace the course and put in the effort and work at it. As hard as it may be to read and accept, you and you alone are responsible for your well being, be it mental or physical and that includes managing your OCD. But that doesn't mean that others can't empathise and support you and empathy and especially support is what I found on the course. If you (yes you and not anyone for you) chose to embark on the course, I truly wish you all the best. Susanne"

Well, I can only begin with the words that I am a healthy, happy young women with a future ahead of her, and I never thought that would ever be the case, having spent time in a clinic and the past 7 years in long term, very dependant therapy I am now living, every second and moment and I am very optimistic about my future.

My experience of OCD stared as a child, she is just 'very sensitive' I remember everyone used to say, now I know that what I was thinking and feeling was OCD, I was always that little bit to cautious and concerned, I had routines, thoughts and behaviour that were part of my life, although distressing, they did not at this point impede my life, to any obvious degree. As my family environment was confusing for me at times, I preferred to spend time in my head, this felt safe. As I grew older and left school, my OCD came along too, it was at university after the worst term of my life that things really stared to fall apart, I lost a lot of weight and became very ill, I washed my hands so frequently that they would bleed all day, eventually I was diagnosed with severe anorexia nervosa at age 21 and entered a clinic for treatment, I use the word 'treatment' lightly, as other then being 're-fed', not a lot else happened. Over time I came to realise that my eating problems were actually due to my contamination OCD and I have only recently found peace and distance from that label, in my opinion labels can be very dangerous, I didn't understand what was going wrong for me emotionally so I just became very good at my new 'title', anything to distract myself and to disappear from life. I spent the last 7 years always hoping that I would find the answer or the 'magic pill', be that a therapist , self help book, herbal medicine...I was always too stubborn to consider medication, until about 2 and a half months ago when I couldn't keep going any longer as I was.

My life had become painfully hard, I had existed in my isolated bubble world of control, a constant shift between anorexia and OCD, but as my weight had finally reached a healthy place, which was what we had all been waiting for as the answer to my problems, my OCD came in and knocked me off my feet. I had nowhere to hide and it consumed my life and that of my family, in weeks, getting worse everyday. I found it impossible to leave the house on some days, I checked and re-checked things but lost faith in my judgement and myself, I washed and changed clothes several times a day, cleaned and re-cleaned clothes, the house, infact anything that stood still long enough was cleaned....twice or often more!!, my hands again bore the brunt and everyone knew because there was no hiding it, driving became to traumatic, I had to stop my massage training course and avoided my beautiful new baby nephew who was just 3 months old, for fear that I might contaminate him, this hurt me terribly, but also my wonderful brother to whom I am very close. My family were affected on a daily, hourly, even minute to minute basis, constant reassurance, questions and behaviours, 'risky tasks' I asked them to do for me, I thought I was just managing my OCD...but it was managing me.

I was about to see my GP for medication, as I just desperately wanted to be numb, I was tired of the fight, but before I went I sat in front of the computer and typed in the words OCD centre, I think something was watching over me that day because within minutes I was talking to the most empathetic, understanding and wonderful person, who knew hands on what was happening, Chez, gave me total honesty, support and understanding, I remember breathing a huge sigh of relief because just for that moment I felt understood and a little less afraid. It was literally 3 days between that call and my first day on the intensive, the whole of those five days was quite frankly the best experience of my life, It was challenging, exciting, supporting and incredibly motivating...It was wonderful to not feel alone with OCD and I made some fantastic friends for life. The programme really works, it is written by people with OCD for people with OCD and both India and Clint are open, honest, genuine, inspiring people who are with you every step of the way, which meant so much, I left the intensive with everything I needed to start managing my OCD and was lucky enough to have a home session with Clint, which was fantastic and changed the way I felt about my home environment and actually myself and helped me to integrate everything I learned on the course.

The wonderful commitment, patience and care of everyone at the OCD centre, makes it a wonderfully supportive but pro-active environment, I never wanted someone to fix me, I just wanted to learn the tools to take care of myself and manage my OCD, without depending on anyone. The skills you learn are for life and are invaluable and I can say just 6 weeks after my intensive, I am living, laughing and happy, I am part of my family and the world again, I have some great friends and I understand and accept myself for who I am. I hope that anyone with OCD is lucky enough to have this wonderful opportunity and the chance to be in some amazing company with India, Clint and Chez and all the people that you meet along the way. Georgina

I have suffered from OCD since 1995 (illness phobias and responsibility issues), and have received therapy for much of this time. While the "talking cure" has provided support, insight and self-awareness, nothing affected the OCD until I received CBT at a self-referral clinic at a London hospital. This first experience of cognitive therapy interrupted the anxiety and enabled me to take some control with my condition. However, my treatment fairly ad-hoc, and I was discharged and expected to self-supervise with 1 follow-up session. I have since muddled along for years grappling with anxiety, constantly asking my wife, helplines and all and sundry for reassurance, living a life dominated by fear... you know the story.

In 2004, I came across Dr Jeffrey Schwartz and his book "Brain Lock". This evidence-based, scientific, and compassionate approach to OCD and CBT resonated with me and I made some very small and tentative steps. I wanted to meet this man and through Google discovered India Haylor's association with him. I soon arranged appointments at the OCD Centre and responded to the strategy and the therapist's particular emphasis.

I understood completely what I needed to do - of course, I had read the books! I believed the rationale behind the therapy and my homework and felt better that here was a therapy that did make a real difference, but did I take my therapist's advice? No, I cheated! I avoided my homework because I avoid pain and anxiety. I progressed a little as sessions lifted my spirits, but I with hindsight, I was on an avoidance trip and using therapy as a "sweetener", an excuse to put off the real work.

The OCD became so bad in May this year that I finally gave in and made the decision to attend the Intensive Course at the OCD Centre. My initial decision gave me hope, but as the course approached I became increasingly resentful of the prospect of exposure and behaviour work. I became angry with myself and my therapist (I was horrible) as I searched for any reason not to attend, but thank goodness I did.

Having competed the course and at the risk of sounding like a religious convert I can say is that the Intensive has changed my life. Those 5 days were probably the most challenging but most rewarding of my life. The sheer intensity of the course enabled me to carry out behavioural aspects of treatment that I had avoided for over 10 years and without these behaviours, I would have remained in OCD hell indefinitely. The support and acceptance of the other 4 sufferers and the 2 therapists was extraordinary and overwhelming. I felt understood and believed in. While we had all reached the end of our respective roads and were desperate for this therapy to be effective, my new friends' determination to do the treatment inspired me to try for myself. Even though I had a tantrum and missed a morning, in true prodigal son tradition they supported me when I was resistant and enabled me to work through my tasks with kindness... and as I started, I have begun to recover.

One is rightly suspicious of claims that a therapy works for all people. However, I have responded well to the holistic and integrated approach proposed by the OCD Centre and employed during the Intensive. Grounded in the latest scientific research, the therapy teaches behaviours that affect the physical mechanics of our brain. It has also equipped me with mental apparatus, both in terms of cognitive strategies and mindfulness exercises. The brain-stuff is balanced by insight into psychological factors that affect and aggravate our OCD such as shame, guilt and self-worth, critically with work to address them. A nutritional plan is provided so that we can better manage chemicals that affect our brain-function, while the while package is brought together in a plan for anxiety management that has began to enable me to make real progress for the first time in my life.

I suspect that this works in a similar fashion to a 12-step programme where fellow-sufferers look out for each other. The fact that we all have OCD meant that empathy and camaraderie was immediate, and while I arrived deeply ashamed of my OCD, I was never ashamed to be with these people. Neither can the fact that both therapists are in recovery be underestimated. India and Clint were patient, strong, kind, and unorthodox at times, but determined throughout that we could recover and that we could do the treatments. With my habitual avoidance of treatment, their journeys to recovery and ability to identify with my own experience gave me courage to "do it" rather than "read about it".

I enrolled for this course wanting to find out how to make my anxiety disappear. I left the Intensive with a strategy for recovery informed by the latest scientific research, four dear friends, and transformed by an experience of acceptance that has made me re-evaluate my life and a determination to remain in recovery.

I am grateful beyond words.

Simon"